Last Minute Dinner
Well… Tuesday I was on the fence about making a dinner because I was at the shop and I hadn’t gone out to find my ingredients yet. I also knew it would be a very late dinner. Just in case I decided to cook something from the Lost Kitchen I ran to the Farmer’s Market on the Square. I quickly grabbed golden Beets from Broadview Farm and Gardens. They are super nice people. I am looking forward to stopping at their farm stand too one of these days. I love that they offer a stand during the week so you can grab things you need before the weekend! The stand is open Tuesday through Saturday 10-6. They located at 18720 HWY 176 in Marengo. The farm is certified naturally grown. They work in harmony with nature without relying on synthetic fertilizers or GMO’s.
I also grabbed peaches, bluberries, cherries & Pears From DAD’s Farm.
Once I left the shop I decided that yes, I will throw together a quick dinner. I didn’t have any meat so I drove out to Alden Hills Organic Farm in Walworth. I grabbed my steak and went home. It is nice and easy to go grab what you need at their stand. They are open 8-6 each day and you grab and pay. There is no one there to check you out. Bring cash or check or that venmo thing. HAHA!
I arrived home and 6 and I knew I made a bad choice of cooking tonight. I did anyway and this was the menu….
Chilled Golden Beet & Buttermilk soup
I salted and boiled the beets. Once tender, I let them cool and then peeled them.
You simply throw them in the food processor or a blender and puree. I added the fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper and the buttermilk and blended until smooth. Taste test to see if it needs more salt and pepper. This was so simple and delish. I stuck it in the fridge to cool and quickly made the macerated shallot vinaigrette. I saved a couple small beets to chop and mix in with this vinaigrette. Later this will go on the soup with a couple sprigs of Basil. I made the mistake of sticking one tiny red beet in the blender with the golden beets. It all turned pink! It was still super pretty. This soup overall reminded me of cold pickled beets. Love. I love beets.
Next I prepared the Peach and Ginger Cobbler. So simple and Sam loved it. He used hmmm maybe 20 forks when this came out of the oven. He kept “trying” it . I used 6 peaches from Dad’s farm from Michigan. They are on the Square both Tuesday and Saturday. This called for some pantry ingredients and I already had them. Sam and I were hesitant to add the fresh ginger and the candied ginger to this dessert but It really all works out so well together as a finished product. If you aren’t sure about the ginger then just don’t add it. You could add some cinnamon or nutmeg or both. Or none. It would be good all ways! This took no time at all to make. Seriously a great dessert to make super fresh right on the spot.
Back to Dinner.. The Rib Eye Steaks had plenty of time to completely thaw out. Phew! I brushed them in the olive oil and salted and peppered them while grill heated up. This recipe called for an herb butter to dot the steaks after they come off the grill and are resting. This was quick. In the stand mixer I whipped the butter and added salt and pepper, marjoram, thyme, lemon zest fresh dill. Since this was a last minute dinner I used dried spices when I didn’t have fresh. I rolled this up in parchment and threw in the freezer to harden.
I still had to get the lavender frites made. I was getting irritated at this point because it was 9 pm. I sliced the potatoes into fry sized logs and let them sit in cold water for 20 minutes. I drained and dried them. I do not own a fryer and I do not want one ever! I heated up vegetable oil in a pan and stuck the thermometer on the edge. I never truly fried anything before! I make fries in the oven. I had to follow through with this though. So once the oil came up to 325 I added the first batch of fries and let them just cook through not brown. Erin says to remove them after about 4 minutes to drain and finish the rest of the fries the same way. After that we raised the temp to 375 and working in batches re fried them for what seemed like seconds until brown. While the potatoes were soaking earlier I made the garlic and olive oil that would be tossed with the fries once drained. We put the finished fries in a big bowl and tossed them with the garlic olive oil and herbs— thyme and herbes de Provence. I garnished them with a simple pansy. I killed all my lavender so I improvised. These were our favorite fries we ever had. I suggest making a lot of them as they will prob be the favorite part of this dinner. Next time I will go out and find fresh lavender.
Steaks went on the grill and we topped them with the herb butter we made earlier and it was time for dinner! It was 10pm and all the fries were pretty much gone. The peach cobbler was eaten as well with the 20 forks and Sam also ate a bag of popcorn while he waited. His favorite dinner so far is still the pork burgers. You still have time to make them this summer!
This was a last minute dinner with no frills. I would eat it all again just not at 10PM ! I can not wait to do another one with more frills and some guests!
